Shelton Premaratne
Shelton Premaratne () (1931 – 30 May 2024) was a Sri Lankan music composer, instrumentalist and music director. Career Shelton made his mark in Sinhala music at a time when Sinhala music was loosely inspired by tunes from Hindi music and Tamil music from India. He went on to stamp his authority with the introduction of unique music catering to the Sri Lankan audience. He served as a music director in over 30 stage productions which also include Henry Jayasena’s popular theatre production ''Hunuwataye Kathawa'' (''The Caucasian Chalk Circle''), and also served as a music composer for at least 21 Sinhala films including ''Daskon'', ''Romeo Juliet Kathawak'' and ''Hithaka Pipunu Mal.'' He also educated several students about the essence of music and had also contributed significantly to arts and culture in his illustrious career spanning over six decades. Discography * ''Ekamath Eka Rataka'' (1958) * ''Ma Alaya Kala Tharuniya'' (1959) * ''Gehanu Geta'' (1959) * ''Vanama ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west. Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders". The 2021 census recorded the population of Greater Sydney as 5,231,150, meaning the city is home to approximately 66% of the state's population. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2017. Nicknames of the city include the 'Emerald City' and the 'Harbour City'. Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the Greater Sydney region for at least 30,000 years, and Aboriginal engravings and cultural sites are common throughout Greater Sydney. The traditional custodians of the land on which modern Sydney stands ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henry Jayasena
Kala Keerthi Dr Bastian Koralage Henry Rudrigo Jayasena (born 6 July 1931 – died 11 November 2009 as Sinhala: හෙන්රි ජයසේන), popularly known as Henry Jayasena, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. With a career spanning more than four decades, Jayasena is considered one of the best dramatists in Sri Lankan drama. Personal life He was born on 6 July 1931 in Bendiyamulla, Gampaha. He attended to the Gampaha branch of Lorenz College for primary education. He then attended to Nalanda College Colombo for his secondary education. During his time at the school, he was classmates with many successful people, among who were Dr. Dharmasena Attygalle, Karunaratne Abeysekera, Dr. Harischandra Wijayatunga, Dr. Hudson Silva, Hon. Rupa Karunathilake, Jayasena was married to fellow actress Manel Ilangakoon in 1962. Manel played the lead role in Jayasena's play ''Kuweni'' and won the best actress award for her performance at the State Drama ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Caucasian Chalk Circle
''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than the baby's wealthy biological parents. The play was written in 1944 while Brecht was living in the United States. It was translated into English by Brecht's friend and admirer Eric Bentley and its world premiere was a student production at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1948. Its first professional production was at the Hedgerow Theatre, Philadelphia, directed by Bentley. Its German premiere by the Berliner Ensemble was on October 7, 1954, at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin. ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' is one of Brecht's most celebrated works and one of the most regularly performed 'German' plays. It reworks Brecht's earlier short story " Der Augsburger Kreidekreis." Both derive from the 14 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Keerthi Pasquel
Pasquel Wasam Ananda Keerthirathna (born January 29, 1956), popularly known as Keerthi Pasquel ( Sinhala: කීර්ති පැස්කුවල්:), is a Sri Lankan pop musician and composer. He has been performing for more than three decades and has won a number of awards. Keerthi is a judge on the reality show Derana Dream Star and sets the record as the only judge in Sri Lanka to sit for 10 consecutive seasons in a reality show beginning from 2008 until today. He has been active in music education and in social welfare. He is affectionately known as the "balladeer of Sinhala music". Early life Keerthi Pasquel was born on 29 January 1956 in the city of Hanthana, Kandy as the youngest of four siblings. His father was Pasquel Wasam Gayaneris and mother was S. W. Leslin. He had four elder sisters: Nalini, Rukmani Chandra, Chitrani and one elder brother, Padmasiri. Keerthi studied at Dharmaraja College up until his GCE O/level examination. Keerthi's passion for music was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1931 Births
Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. * January 25 – Mohandas Gandhi is again released from imprisonment in India. * January 27 – Pierre Laval forms a government in France. February * February 4 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gives a speech calling for rapid industrialization, arguing that only strong industrialized countries will win wars, while "weak" nations are "beaten". Stalin states: "We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us." The first five-year plan in the Soviet Union is intensified, for the industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. * February 10 – Official ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2024 Deaths
The following notable deaths occurred in 2024. Names are reported under the date of death, in alphabetical order. A typical entry reports information in the following sequence: * Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent nationality (if applicable), what subject was noted for, cause of death (if known), and reference. January 26 25 * Hari Shankar Bhabhra, 95, Indian politician, MP (1978–1984), speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (1990–1994) and deputy chief minister of Rajasthan (1994–1998). * Bhavatharini, 47, Indian composer ('' Bharathi'', '' Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu'') and music director ('' Mitr, My Friend''), cancer. *Roger Donlon, 89, American military officer, Medal of Honor recipient. * Sanath Nishantha, 48, Sri Lankan politician, minister of state for water supply (2020–2022, since 2022) and MP (since 2015), traffic collision. * Elahi Bux Soomro, 97, Pakistani politician, member (1985–2007) and speaker (1996–20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sri Lankan Musicians
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', Shiri, Shree, ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, but also as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for local rulers. Shri is also another name for Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra. Etymology Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the meaning of the ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sri Lankan Composers
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', Shiri, Shree, ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, but also as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for local rulers. Shri is also another name for Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra. Etymology Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the meaning of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |